90+3 min: Kyrgiakos' header is harmless and Wolves have a goal kick. There's about 45 seconds left.
90+2 min: The ball is down near the corner flag at the Liverpool end. Mick McCarthy will be delighted. The Wolves players surrounding the ball conspire to be flagged offside, and Reina pumps his free kick forward. It's cleared for a throw by Zubar.
90 min: Kuyt's probing cross is punched away bravely by Hennessey. There will be 4 minutes of added time. John Brindle has news. Upset Liverpool fans, look away now: "Just to put the icing on this enormous cake of disappointment, the change in Liverpool’s goal difference if the score remains the same means that Everton now go above them in the league." I ate an enormous cake of disappointment once. It gave me terrible indigestion.
88 min: OFFSIDE GOAL!
Wolves offside trap works a treat. A lovely free kick is headed in by Skrtel, but Wolves have left him and three other players languishing in an offside position. Torrid times for both sides. David Edwards is on for Matt Jarvis for the visitors.
87 min: Keith Watson has emailed me. Thanks, Keith. He says "I wonder what Martin O'Neil is up to these days..........always thought that he would be a good replacement for Benítez!" Wonder away, Keith. I expect he's reading up on criminology. The man is obsessed. Aimless long ball from Liverpool sails through to Hennessey. This game does not have the look of a dominant side desperately pushing for an equaliser. There's precious little of Liverpool on the ball in the final third. They do now have a free kick about 40 yards from goal on the far left.
85 min: Andy Gray suggests that Roy Hodgson will be subjected to widespread booing from the Liverpool fans if the score stays like this. You think, Andy?! Reina's goal kick is fed to Kuyt who is, again, fantastically closed down by Wolves defenders. And it's a free kick to Wolves.
83 min: I've just noticed that Joe Cole is on the pitch. Our neat live statistics box to your right informs me he was a 73rd minute substitute for Meireles. My apologies. Ebanks-Blake gives Skrtel a torrid time as the Liverpool defender attempts to user the ball out. The Wolves linchpin has had an excellent, bustling game.
80 min: Liverpool labouring to get a hold of the ball. Aurelio feeds Babel who turns but produces a nothing ball straight to a Wolves defender. Nervy times here, especially for Wolves supporters. Their side completely deserves the lead, it will be heartbreaking if this awful Liverpool performance deprives them of a first away win of the season.
78 min: Stephen Ward is replaced by Steven Fletcher for Wolves. Yes, I've spelt each Stephen correctly. Thanks for wondering.
76 min: Johnson is booked for an ugly challenge on Hunt. "If that was us, you'd send 'im off" sing the Wolves fans in excellent unity and full-on Black Country accents.
75 min: Reina punches away a Wolves corner somewhat uncertainly, and Elokobi wins another corner for Wolves. Reina wins a free kick this time, replays show Kyrgiakos all over Ward's shirt.
74 min: Some top-quality ironic cheers from the Liverpool support as Paul Konchesky is substituted by Fabio Aurelio. Mark Ogden on Twitter says: "Ever heard the phrase 'relegation-threatened Liverpool'? Get used to it if they lose at home to Wolves."
71 min: Hard to see where an equaliser is going to come from when you see Glen Johnson pumping an aimless ball towards the box. Someone in red needs to take this by the scruff of the neck. Hopes seem to rest on a half-fit Steven Gerrard. John & Christine Brindle (I'm sure it's one or the other, but they have a joint email address) say: "Torres can see how badly it has all slipped at Anfield and now that there is zero chance of champs league, he appears to have thrown in the towel. Bring Dalglish back – he wants it and players will respond to him next season. It’s already too late even to secure a UEFA cup place this year." Tough times.
67 min: Anyone know why Pepe Reina is getting booed by Wolves fans every time he touches the ball? There have also been several unsavoury chants involving him which are far too fruity for reproduction here. Des Nichols of beach-show-off fame writes "You had better tell Mr Hodgson he should get his flipflops and Hawaiian shirt ready; there is room on the beach for one more." On the pitch Liverpool have maintained the improved pace but Wolves are still matching them. Babel tries a long shot but it deflects twice for a goal kick.
65 min: Barry O'Barma says he will accept a theoretical £50m for Torres from Manchester City if they "throw in Maxi, Lucas, Johnson. And if they took Kyrgiakos as well, knock £2m off." Sounds like a perfectly fair deal to me, for a player that looks bored, tired, and a shadow of his former self. Liverpool are raising the pace and the Kop has found its voice with a more conventional Liv-er-pool song.
63 min: So close to 2-0! Kyrgiakos dallies on the ball and Folan steals in, but Glen Johnson slides in with a terrific block. Anfield reverberates to chants of Kenny Dalglish's name. Roy Hodgdon looks concerned.
61 min: The travelling Wolves fans are in terrific voice and their players continue to deserve their support, snapping into tackles ad getting to balls they have no right to. Babel on for Ngog. There's a lot of booing from the stands, seemingly directed at Ngog. Liverpool fans aren't the type to berate their own players, which tells you everything about the Frenchman's performance.
60 min: David Ngog is having a stinker. He's lost possession about seven times already in this half, and an ill-advised back-heel flick to no one into particular incurs the wrath of a restless Kop. Ebanks-Blake bears down on goal with two Wolves forwards in support, but his shot is blocked.
59 min: Lucas feeds it out to Konchesky whose poor cross is easily dealt with. Wolves immediately looking more defensive, but there's been nothing from Liverpool to suggest that Mick McCarthy's team need to sit on this lead.
Desperate defending from Liverpool who allow a simple through ball to reach Stephen Ward who finishes neatly into the far corner. Completely deserved. And my 4-1 prediction is still on!
55 min: Wolves dominating possession and Liverpool looking increasingly abject, with several players giving the ball away cheaply in the last few minutes. Ebanks-Blake heads over under pressure from Skrtel.
51 min: Comic miskick from Reina who bafflingly passes straight to Ebanks-Blake just outside the box. Wolves fail to capitalise, but it's a very silly and out-of-character mistake from the Spanish keeper. Zubar gets a shot away in the end, which Reina does well to get down to.
49 min: Martin Harvey and his iPad are offering suggestions for potential replacements for Roy Hodgson. "There's always Big Sam," he offers. Hmm. Ngog is in a great position close to goal but Wolves crowd him out excellently. He gets a shot away against the odds but it goes wide. It's an improved Liverpool performance so far this half, but that was never going to be hard.
47 min: Reina catches a Matt Jarvis corner and releases Torres who has space to run into on the left flank. He dilly dallies and is tackled before he can get a cross in towards Lucas and Meireles who await in the box. He's taking the phrase "out of sorts" to bold new places. Would you cash in on him in January if Manchester City offered £35m? That's my official debate topic for the second half. Email me your views here.
46 min: Wolves get us under way and pass it straight back to Wayne Hennessey in goal. That's attacking intent. Des Nichols writes: "I am in Naples, Florida, on the white-sand beach with a cold beer in hand and my beautiful fiancée at my side. Tell me honestly, have a made a mistake missing the game?" Of course you have Des. You're a fair-weather supporter in the truest sense of the word. You're going to be feeling pretty silly when my 4-1 prediction unexpectedly bears fruit.
Liverpool are not good. I am being openly mocked by my Telegraph colleagues for my outlandish 4-1 score prediction. I deserve this. Wolves, on the other hand, are doing a marvellous job of pressing Liverpool all over the pitch, and with a little more composure on their numerous breaks could easily be ahead. It's surely got to be a Woy Wocket at half time. Stay tuned.
44 min: An upset Red writes: "What on earth is going on at Anfield?" asks Martin Harvey from Colne, and on his iPad. "Where is our verve, our panache, our flair, our courage? I've followed the reds since the 70s and I just get so frustrated nowadays – we have individually talented players but no real team." I'm not sure what to tell you Martin. This has been a rotten performance so far, but then Liverpool haven't played for 18 days so may be rusty and spark into life in the second half. Or maybe all the players want Hodgson gone. There's so little of interest going on on the pitch that I'm willing to entertain wacky conspiracy theories.
Keep your emails coming, they stave off the soul-sapping boredom.
39 min: Kyrgiakos goes down again in the box from a corner and there's a more half-hearted appeal, but replays show Berra is all over the Greek defender, practically hanging off his shirt as he pulls him down. Nothing doing, says the ref. Wolves break with Ebanks-Blake but his pass for the advancing Jarvis is weak.
38 min: Torres finds Gerrard on the right who swings the ball over to Lucas in the middle. Hennessey claims somewhat nervously and pumps it up field. Liverpool are straight back at Wolves and Ngog gets away a goalbound-looking shot which Wolves deflect out for a corner.
36 min: Elokobi has forever to size up a cross into the box with four Wolves players queuing up for it in the box. It's a horrible cross, sliced out for a goal kick. Kuyt, as ever, is trying single-handedly to bring some urgency into proceedings. He darts forward with the ball and plays it toward Torres who doesn't appear to try very hard to bring it under control and is inevitably under immediate pressure from Wolves defenders who can clear to safety.
35 min: Pace – sedate. Anfield – quiet. Wolves – having a bit of a breather. Roy Hodgson – moments away from his notorious pained facial rub gesture. Mick McCarthy – less depressed-looking than when the game began.
31 min: Elokobi concedes a free kick which Gerrard punts into the box. It's cleared and Liverpool have a sustained period of possession with their opponents pinned back for the firstly time in about 15 minutes. Konchesky's laughable long shot brings an end to that. Wolves still doing an excellent job in chasing down every Liverpool player when they don't have the ball.
29 min: Liverpool look incapable of breaking down Wolves at the moment, it's all slightly mis-hit passes and a slight sluggishness to their decision making which is letting Wolves regroup. Stearman is the irritating tenacious schoolmate who never, ever stopped running and hassling anyone that had the ball. He pressures Ngog back for about five yards before referee Walton awards a foul.
26 min: Nervy and poor stuff from Liverpool. Lucas spurns a break which has Wolves stretched with an aimless ball forward. Johnson smashes a ridiculous clearance into the stand when he could have easily passed it back to Reina. Their hope has got to be that Wolves' constant pressing will leave them tired, because they're getting very little joy out of them at the moment.
24 min: Stearman tackles Ngog beautifully and Wolves attack again. It fizzles out, but it's worth noting that almost all of Wolves attacks are going down the right, and their players appear to be targeting the gap between Skrtel and Konchesky. As I type that Jarvis scampers down the other wing and beats Johnson for pace before failing to find Ebanks-Blake in the middle with his cross.
23 min: Torres is racing into space ahead of Kuyt and receives a hooked pass that's slightly too far away of him. He slides it to the advancing Johnson but his long shot is charged down.
21 min: Another nice exchange of passes between Hunt and Ebankd-Blake allows the striker top fire in a low cross which Liverpool clear for a corner. It's inconsequential again. Wolves looking bright and up for it, but they need something to show for their attacking intent.
18 min: A spell of fast-paced but fruitless pressure from Wolves results in a corner. It's cleared to safety, and ends up back with Hennessey. Ebanks-Blake tries a spectacular shot after brining down a high ball well on the turn but he gets it all wrong and it dribbles harmlessly wide.
17 min: Corner is floated in and Kyrgiakos is bundled over. Liverpool want a penalty but Peter Walton literally could not care less about that appeal.
16 min: Torres picks up the ball in a similar position to where he scored against Chelsea at Anfield. Instead of cutting back to shoot he pulls it back for Lucas whose shot is closed down. Gerrard collects and fires in a cross that's cleared for a corner.
14 min: Andy Gray adroitedly notes that in Liverpool's last three spells of possession the ball has ended up with the goalkeeper. Most recently is was down to a lazy pass by Lucas which was hooked back to Reina by Meireles. This is not the dominant display Anfield was hoping for, and all the noise is coming from the travelling Wolves supporters in the Anfield Road end.
12 min: Neat move between Ebanks-Blake and Jarvis which releases the winger. He's flagged offside, correctly, but Liverpool will be concerned with the ease with which he got past Konchesky.
10 min: Hairy moment for Kyrgiakos who hesitates on the ball as the last man and is closed down by the frighteningly quick Ebanks-Blake who is inches away from intercepting. Encouraging signs for the visitors.
9 min: A pair of corners for Wolves, both delivered well into the box. The first is bundled away after a split second of confusion near the line, the second drifts out deep to Hunt whose looping header clips the bar as it goes over.
7 min: Great chance for Meireles as Torres takes a free kick quickly into the box. He gets ahead of Elokobi and has a simple one on one against Hennessey but it's smothered by the keeper and well defended by Stearman who clears upfield.
6 min: Milijas swings an ill-advised boot at the ball from 25 yards out. It's hit with confidence of a League Two fourth choice striker and moving away from the goal all the way as it sails into the Kop.
4 min: Konchesky tries a hopefully one-two with Kuyt but the return is far too heavy for him to reach. Wolves look to be pressing Liverpool all over the pitch and are already looking a little stretched up against Liverpool's width and crisp passing.
2 min: Steven Gerrard stretches his "meaty challenge" muscles with a firm lunge on Hunt to put the ball out for a throw. Jarvis attacks down the right but is short of options and closed down well by Liverpool, so forced into a backwards pass.
1 min: Liverpool get us under way at a rainy Anfield. A treat for those watching in 3D. Mick McCarthy looks very troubled indeed on the bench. Konchesky puts a long ball over the Wolves defence for Kuyt, but Hennessey is out in time to collect it.
19:59: It's a minute's applause, rather than silence for the pair of Liverpool players mentioned at 19:45. It begins ... now.
19:57: "Can Wolves upset the odds?" asks Sky's commentator Alan Parry, more in hope than expectation. The players are out of the tunnel and us mere television-watching mortals are watching a selection of advertisements, as is the tradition.
19:55: Some Wolves fans are wearing Father Christmas outfits with extremely surly-looking Mick McCarthy masks on them. That's not festive, chaps. That's frightening. Pepe Reina makes his 200th Liverpool this evening, and Daniel Agger is back on the bench after three months out with a calf injury. For Wolves, evergreen 48-year-old Marcus Bent is on the bench.
19:50: Only four Premier League matches between these two to date, Liverpool have one two and the other pair were draws. The last time Wolves won at Anfield was in January 1984. Anyone reading from the Black Country feeling optimistic?
19:45: Liverpool's players will be wearing black armbands this evening to mark the deaths of former players Bill Jones and Avi Cohen. Jones made 277 appearances for the club between 1940 and 1950, Cohen played 18 times between 1979 and 1981. There will also be a minute's silence for the pair before the game.
19:40: "After Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher retire, I think he is the next Mr Liverpool ... Although he is. obviously, from Holland." A wonderful pearl of wisdom from John Barnes, who's on studio punditry duty for Sky. He's talking up the chances of a rout, pointing to Liverpool's attacking starting XI, and who would disagree given that Wolves have the worst away record of any of the 92 Football League clubs? Just one draw away from Molineux all season does not a relegation-avoiding side make.
I'm confidently predicting a goaltastic 4-1 win for Liverpool. Disagree? Place your bets here.
19:36: Liverpool's messiah is back in the reckoning. Steven Gerrard returns to the Liverpool starting line-up, while Wolves supporters will be encouraged by their returning hero: Matt Jarvis. Here are the teams:
Liverpool: (4-4-2)Reina; Johnson, Kyrgiakos, Skrtel, Konchesky; Kuyt, Gerrard, Lucas, Meireles; Torres, Ngog.
Subs: Jones, Agger, Aurelio, Cole, Maxi, Babel, Poulsen.
Wolverhampton: (4-4-2) Hennessey; Zubar, Stearman, Berra, Elokobi; Foley, Milijas, Hunt, Jarvis; Ward, Ebanks-Blake.
Subs: Hahnemann, Edwards, Fletcher, David Jones, Bent, Mujangi Bia, Batth.
19:30 Nothing says "tricky hinterland between Christmas and New Year's" like a routine win over the club bottom of the Premier League. Liverpool, untroubled by the inconvenience of a Boxing Day fixture due to Blackpool's stubborn pitch and weather conditions, will be coming into this game fresh as a New Year's daisy. Wolves, on the other hand are suffering like the carcass of a cooked Christmas turkey, losing 2-1 at home to Wigan three days ago which prompted an extraordinarily foul-mouthed assessment from Mick McCarthy.
Full line-ups to follow, in the meantime why not regale me here with your suggestions for the best things to do in the five days between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve, your most creative use of leftover Christmas dinner, and, obviously, insightful tactical observations and score predictions.
Liverpool v Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield
TV: Live Sky Sports 1 & highlights, BBC One Match of the Day.
Liverpool (Possible, 4-4-2): Reina; Johnson, Kyrgiakos, Skrtel, Konchesky; Maxi, Lucas, Gerrard, Kuyt; Ngog, Torres.
Wolves (Possible, 4-4-2): Hennessey; Zubar, Stearman, Berra, Elokobi; Jarvis, Foley, Milijas, Hunt; Ward, Ebanks-Blake.
Referee: Peter Walton. Matches: 10. R3 Y32.
Steven Gerrard should be back for Liverpool, who have won both home Premier League games against Wolves.
The 30-year-old captain's comeback after more than six weeks on the sidelines has been delayed twice after their last two matches against Fulham and Blackpool were postponed because of the cold weather.
Centre-back Daniel Agger has also finally recovered from a complicated calf problem which had sidelined him since September 25. But Jamie Carragher and Jay Spearing are still absent.
In last season’s 2-0 win at Anfield Gerrard scored the first goal.
Wigan beat Wolves on Sunday and if they win again it will be the first time in 56 games that they will have won consecutive games.
Wolves are still without Jody Craddock (hip), Adlene Guedioura (broken leg), Karl Henry, Steven Mouyokolo (back), Michael Kightly (both knee) and Kevin Doyle (leg).
But Matt Jarvis returned off the bench at the weekend and could start after recovering from a knee injury.
Liverpool 2 Wolves 0, Wolves 0 Liverpool 0.
Wolves last won at Anfield in 1984.
More woe for Wolves. A 4-0 home win is 12-1.
Source:
No comments:
Post a Comment